Full Circle: Sequel of The Power
by Emmanuelle
Summary: (Secret Circle) Can our coven prevail with Diana and Faye at stake? (I know, short, cheesy dramatic opening...I'll try to live up to it) Please R&R.
1. Back to school

Full Circle: The Sequel of "The Power"  
  
Prologue (about ten years ago):  
  
"This Sunday we are gathered here to worship."  
  
The minister's words echoed off distant walls in the church. Light streamed into the spacious room in soft, hazy colors and some of them lazily settled on the head of a little boy. His stance had all the ascetic qualities of being chiseled in stone, except for his cherubic roundness of face. With the innocence that only children have, he repeated the prayer of his parents, "Thou shall not suffer a witch to live."  
  
* * *  
  
Present: New Salem, Massachusetts:  
  
Winter break is over. Six months left 'til college. Free as a single person at last. Diana let these overwhelming thoughts sink in while she drove to school in her car. She is a totally new and different person, she tells herself as she shifts gears to park at the school lot. There are a lot of reasons to feel that way.  
  
They conquered the evil that destroyed their parents' generation. Nick learned the truth about his parents. Cassie confronted her worst fears and won the maturity to accept true love. And Diana herself?. Well, now she is free. Sure, it hurt to know that the boy she was in love with had fallen for her best friend, but they are soulmates. Besides, still being young, pretty and blond does not qualify as having wasted your golden years on a guy.  
  
She shakes off any lingering jealousy about her old boyfriend Adam and her best friend Cassie. Opening the car door, the shock of crisp cold air removes any feelings of loneliness at the loss of Adam. With a clear head she tries to stare at the cold, impersonal sun.  
  
With walking, the sounds of students rushing into school talking and laughing becomes gradually audible. Before Diana officially starts her first school day by entering the double doors, she starts to think she might even be able to do some of the things her very unrepressed cousin Faye can do, like ask guys out with a straight face. The shock of having such a repressed thought causes her to flash a smile.  
  
When she shifts focus from her thoughts to the world of school, she realizes a very cute guy has met her eye and is smiling back. Hmm.someone new, and none of the glazed look that Faye brings out in men. Diana takes a moment to catch her breath; calming down and taking in dramatic hazel eyes, honey blond hair and striking face. She started walking hesitantly towards the boy. Diana reminded herself that she deserves some fun; high school is not over yet. Shifting her stride from mincing to long, she smiles again, resolving to at least introduce herself.  
  
"Hi, I'm Diana. you are new here right?"  
  
"Yep, the name is Emmeth.  
  
* * *  
  
Faye is disgusted. Really disgusted. Wherever she tries to go, all she gets is an ugly eyeful of Cassie and Adam. Adam on Cassie. Cassie all over Adam. She tried the movies, coffee shops, shopping..anything to get away from those love sick freaks!! And she hasn't even touched a guy in ages; after dating a homicidal maniac like Black John, even her libido is affected.  
  
"I really need a man to get myself out of this funk..."  
  
She then catches herself from completing the thought out loud, realizing the stares she gets from a bunch of pimply freshman in the hallway. In a moment of rare wit she walks up to what she believes is the ugliest one of the bunch, a tall boy with messy brown hair. She focuses her power on a textbook in the crook of his arm.  
  
"Do you smell something asshole?"  
  
The rest of his friends start to really stare at her, gazing upon the provocative clothing and the body that went with it. By the time their attention came level with her pale, sensuous face and scary golden eyes they are rooted in place, probably due to a mixture of both lust and primal fear. Only the boy she addressed remains unimpressed.  
  
Tall boy holds out the book in front of him, which has started to flame. He nonchalantly drops the book at Faye's feet. The book then bursts with a pop of sooty ashes. He takes off his glasses to wipe the sweat off his forehead, revealing a far better looking face than what it seemed before.  
  
"The name is Richard, bitch."  
  
Faye raised an eyebrow, realizing that hexing the boy won't do her any good unless she has more information about him than she had now. Besides, the boy is cradle-robbing material. She turns around and makes her exit. The rest of the people in the hallway remained where they were, stunned. Who was he that he could out witch a witch? * * * 


	2. Intro to the Coven

Chapter II  
  
To Breathless Kisses: Thanks for waiting and tell me what you think of this chapter: Also, can you send me the titles of the stories you wrote?  
  
To Everyone else: Enjoy and R&R (Happy holidays or relaxation time:)  
  
Setting: Nick's Math Class  
  
". . .If I told you once I told you a thousand times Zimmerman. An integral is a means of calculating the area under the curve."  
  
"Look Mrs. K. That is such a waste of time. There is only one way of using that in real life: for trying to figure out a girl's bra size. . ."  
  
Amidst the laughter and the blushes in calculus, Nick felt very isolated. He felt that the joke wasn't funny. It was moments like this that reminded him of how cold and empty he was inside. The amount of emotion around him seemed to scream a contrast with his empty heart. His attention wandered to the window beside him. He felt better after looking at the falling snow. New England looks like a shaken snow globe, and it makes a pretty picture. If Mother Nature can pull off the ice princess act so well, then perhaps being emotionally frigid is not so bad.  
  
The teacher continued with her lecture, and Nick forced himself to concentrate on the new material. Without sacrificing attention span, he mulled over recent changes in his life.  
  
He had surprised himself with his newfound dedication to studying. Over the past couple of months he was confronted with the fact that his parents were not failures, they were unsung heroes. Discovering that was very profound for him; he realized he had actively jeopardized his own grades and chances simply because he was angry with his parents for abandoning him. It was humbling to realize that they were the good people they turned out to be. His entire outlook on life changed. He is now going to make something of himself, perhaps an automotive engineer. He had always loved cars. Unfortunately, engineering needs higher math, therefore the calculus class.  
  
Money for college will not be a problem, he thought, which took a load off his shoulders. He took care of his finances last month. The method will probably not be approved of by his crazy coven of witches, but who cares. He was looking forward to finding out how they take the news at the next meeting.  
  
Thinking upon his new feelings of purpose cheered him more than even the view outside. But to some degree Nick must have been fooling himself.  
  
His teacher paused took look over the students in mid-sentence. The usual circle of girls was staring at Nick askance but for once Nick was something more than an impassive pretty boy with brown hair. There was an inwardly dreamy yet unhappy look in Nick's mahogany eyes. With a burst of inspiration she recognized that it was a look longing for romance, or whatever passes for the male equivalent these days and she chuckled aloud.  
  
She hadn't thought about being a teenager for so long and because Nick reminded her of her own teen years, she felt a weight being lifted off of her. When the class stopped to stare at her, she realized that for the first time in teaching, she was having fun.  
  
*** .Meanwhile on planet Earth, Nick still seems to be dead, thought Deborah. Nick had to be lost in his own world. Who can sit still when the two biggest pieces of gossip post-Cassie hit the school? Deborah sat fuming at her quiet cousin, the stupidly quiet Nick.  
  
Unhappily Nick had no idea she was pissed because her glare could only connect to the top of his brown-haired head. After a while, she started twirling her own curly brown hair. Nothing better to do if she couldn't be sure that she could choke him without enjoying herself too much and actually murdering him.  
  
Then the rest of the coven or The Club started streaming into the room. Sean and his short self skulked in first, followed by a streak of long brown hair named Laurel. Next came in Suzan and the blond Henderson twins who seem to be fighting over a paper bag of food. Deborah rolled her eyes: the twins were probably using the wrestling match as an excuse to oogle Suzan's bouncy chest. Melanie brought up the rear with a stack of textbooks.  
  
General mindless conversation ensued: Everyone seemed to be avoiding the juicy talk about Faye and Diana, probably out of fear of what Faye might do if Faye came in and took things the wrong way. Yep, Faye is wicked, Faye is mean. Nice qualities, Deborah thought.  
  
Everyone was also smart enough to avoid talking about Diana. Faye did not like being upstaged by her cousin. Sigh, thought Deborah, she would have to bring the topics up because no one else would. Nobody wanted to be caught talking about it when Faye walked through the door.  
  
"So, I take it everyone knows about Faye and Diana and no one is brave enough to bring the gossip to the table."  
  
Everyone was quiet for a moment, weighing the possibility of Faye's anger versus the temptation to talk behind her back. Chris took a Metallica cap slowly off his head, (blond hat hair is not pretty) and said," Well, it looks like Diana is hitting it off with an outsider. What happens if Diana marries him?.I mean a child of a witch and an outsider would have to be a freak."  
  
"Chris," said Melanie as if talking to an idiot, "lots of witches have intermarried with humans. The whole concept of seven girls and five guys in a coven forces at least two of the girls to marry normal humans if they want families."  
  
"Oh yeah? But what about the kid's powers? Having the powers of half a witch is better than none, but then that is diluting witch power. That should be wrong."  
  
"Doug, power depends on your family, not from how many of your parents are witches. Besides, your own grandfather was an outsider." Melanie looked slightly out of character, a little smug.  
  
Doug and Chris started shouting over each other to make Melanie take back her words. When the twins ran out of steam, Sean made a mistake and opened his mouth.  
  
"I must be psychic. . . I must. Remember that time that Faye used to walk around with a Playgirl?"  
  
"Look Sean. That was millions of years ago in junior high. Second of all the reason she brought those damn magazines into school was to compare those men to us, to humiliate us. It's not something I'd rather remember. . ," said Doug. This was followed by sighs from both twins and giggles from the girls.  
  
Stubbornly Sean continued," What I wanted to say was that she was particularly obsessed with this guy in a fireman's get up--"  
  
"What of it? From what I remember the guy was worth fantasizing over, unlike some unnamed pervert." More giggles came from the girls.  
  
"Before I was rudely interrupted by Suzan, I was going to say that I said at the time that it would be very likely that since she has such a weakness for firemen that she would likely be brought down low by one someday.and I was right."  
  
Melanie decided she better say something before this silly and contorted conversation could give her a headache. "Not that I want to know, but out of fairness how exactly is the Faye incident and her past interest in buff firemen connected?"  
  
"Faye's fire was put out by a male witch. Firemen put out fires. Ergo I am officially a psychic." Groans and general murmurings of "whatever" were made, but in a good-natured manner. They all respected Sean in what most likely is at least a small way.  
  
After a lull in the conversation, Laurel pointed out," The big deal is not whether there is someone better at being the center of attention than dear Faye but rather what do we do about an unknown witch?"  
  
The conversation continued from here and it was pretty loud and disorderly, but Deborah was not in the mood to pay attention anymore. Its not like one young witch can threaten an entire circle. Deborah did not feel at all threatened.  
  
Deborah knew that her cousin is in the middle of sorting out his life, but she thought of herself as his sister and sisters want to see their brother's happy in love, right? It's not like Nick doesn't get female attention; even teachers check him out every now and then. If only he would get himself a stable girlfriend, then she wouldn't be so uneasy.  
  
Which of course lead to thoughts like why doesn't Deborah go find herself a guy? Then one look around the room gave her the perverted Henderson twins and scrawny little Sean. Well, not so scrawny, he might be working out some, but still not appealing enough.  
  
Enough, Deborah thought. First find a girl for Nick, then a guy for herself. Deborah was about to start being part of the conversation again when Nick made a rare comment.  
  
"Well, I don't know about you guys but I don't feel like hunting down my own date for the next homecoming. I'm putting myself on the dating auction block."  
  
"Wow, that's brave of you. Doug, how much money do you think I could make I volunteered my own heavenly body for the auction?"  
  
Doug proceeded to throw some salad at his twin Chris and said, "I could make much more money than you loser." Laurel and Suzan didn't seem to hear the twins and were trying to make eye contact with Nick.  
  
Deborah decided with a burst of determination to find Nick's dream girl by the day of the auction. After all, how hard can it be when about half the school was in love with him? ***  
  
January 10th 2003. Diana woke up surrounded by a scene worthy of Mount Olympus. Diana, Aphrodite, the Muses and the others all smiled down on her. Her carefully inked pictures of the goddesses filled her with a warmth that she enjoyed.  
  
While brushing her teeth she pondered over why she was so hung over with the new guy Emmeth. He has golden hazel eyes that smiled at her in almost the same way Faye did when they were best friends. Kind of an incestuous crazy thought, but that extra bit of familiarity made him more comfortable to be with. Otherwise all those times during the past couple of days that he flirted, played with her hair and gave her hot smiles would have been a bit too intense for her.  
  
When she was done with her shower, she settled with breakfast in the kitchen and opened the Mead Book of Shadows to the place she last read. "The Advantages and Disadvantages when Practicing Witchcrafte when under the Influence of the Soulmate Principle", was the title of the next section. Something to discuss with the circle at the next meeting tomorrow. Along with the discussion about the new freshman witch. She marked the page.  
  
When she heard a horn honk, she looked out the window and saw Emmeth's car. She left the house and approached the black BMW. Not that she needed guys with money, but the entrance Emmeth made was impressive. When the car door opened she hugged him hello. While he was murmuring a "hello, sexy" in her ear, she saw someone sitting in the backseat. A brown haired teenager with an intense stare.  
  
"Oh, Diana, meet my younger brother Richard. . ." *** 


	3. Girls and Their Favorite Things

Chapter 3: Girls and their Favorite Things  
  
(Hmm, Happy New Year's.I really want this year to be better than last year:)  
  
Part I: Faye's Feelings  
  
Total blackness. The cold touch of a waxy, wooden floor on bare skin. The uncomfortable smell of a mildewy sweat that can never be washed away. Suzan slowly opened her eyes and groaned. Knocked down by a ball in her first period gym class. One of the great joys of high school. Some idiot boy was probably staring at her chest while spiking, go figure.  
  
She hauled herself off the floor and the teacher helped her the rest of the way from the volleyball game and towards the bleachers. Her head was throbbing as she ignored the apologizing boy, the idiot who ruined her day, mumbled a "you're forgiven" and settled her head on Faye's shoulder, to annoy Faye and also hoping that resting her head would do something for the pain. Faye really hated touching anything without a dick, she probably considered it a waste of her time.  
  
They both sat for a bit without talking; no one would feel up to real conversation at 8 AM if they were honest to themselves. The noise of the people talking and yelling was not helping her head, Suzan decided. Suzan looked down and saw the reason why Faye was not part of the game, she was wearing dangerous looking high heels. Suzan's attention wandered back to the game. Watching her team win due to the efforts of Deborah was its own mindless pleasure, especially since the guy who hit Suzan on the head is on the other team.  
  
Eventually Suzan decided that Faye's shoulders were too bony, so she lifted her head off. A few minutes later Suzan's blood circulation in her head returned to normal. Time to figure out what's new in Faye world.  
  
"So Faye, what's the occasion?" Suzan gestured not only to the heels, but also a nightclub worthy ensemble.  
  
"I'm feeling mad at mankind today. This look is a I'm-too-hot-to- deal-with-this-shit statement." Faye spoke in a dispassionate dry tone.  
  
"I know how that feels, but are you sure you are not wearing your statement for a particular someone?" Suzan asked this in an admirably straight face. She kept her snicker to herself.  
  
"I don't know what to tell you. Not Nick, he is very, very hot, but not easy to manipulate. He is too serious to have fun with. The new captain of the football team, Mike Garring, is worth the view, but I don't like leftovers." Faye's sneer was this close to not being friendly, thought Suzan. Besides, Suzan didn't believe it was her fault that the football team reacted so strongly to those yellow gems, whatever their name is (may Melanie never figure out that Suzan forgot the name of her working stone). Nor is Suzan the one with the school whore rep: Faye should know better than sneering at her.  
  
"Believe me when I say that Mike is not worth your time. And Nick not chasing girls is sort of a given. The way girls throw themselves at him I'm surprised he hasn't turned gay. It's really no fun when adoration comes too easy. He liked Cassie because he knew he wouldn't have that kind of relationship with her. You already know all of this, so I'm betting there is another guy."  
  
"Hmm.so the story about that freshman leaked pretty well. Even you heard the story. Well, just so you know, he is cute, and if I were stuck on a deserted island with only him he can kiss his virginity goodbye. But otherwise, I do have some idea of honor and I am not after him." Faye didn't have any emotions on her face, but Suzan thought she saw a slight blush.  
  
Before Suzan could squeeze out more details about how bad Faye really had it for this kid, a lemony scent started wafting towards them. Smells like Deborah. It's a good thing its not Deborah's sweat, thought Faye. Deborah usually sweats like a guy.  
  
"So, who's the new victim?" Deborah directed this towards Faye.  
  
"What makes you think there is a victim?" Faye and Suzan asked this at the same time. The only difference is that Faye had an edge to her tone and Suzan only sounded curious.  
  
"The whole Medusa look."  
  
"Medusa look?!" Again Faye and Suzan managed to synchronize their question. Faye surreptitiously looked over herself. "You mean like some bag lady with snakes for hair?!"  
  
"No, you look as if you want 'men to turn to stone with nary a look'. I'm pretty sure that the ancient Greeks are probably laughing at us. Most of their stuff sounds suspiciously like boner jokes. Besides, I haven't seen you with a guy in a long time. No men makes for an angry Faye." Deborah looked like she was having fun when she said this.  
  
"And an angry Faye means that a sucker is about to be hexed," finished Suzan, who was also amused.  
  
Faye stood frozen for a moment trying to decide whether she was more pissed or rather that forgiveness is okay once in awhile. A bitchy reputation took hard work. Well, since these are old friends, what the hell, Faye thought.  
  
"In fact I do have someone in mind. . ."  
  
  
  
Part II: The Other Half  
  
At the start of the same period as gym, Laurel, Melanie, Cassie and Diana dragged themselves into morning AP U.S. History. Unlike Faye's class, this lecture was more demanding in terms of work. The teacher, Mr. Martlett, may be a cute and athletic specimen of the male race, but he talked really fast. Maybe that sort of thing might be more useful in other occupations, like in rap, thought Laurel derivsively. The class was painful because of its extremes: puppy cute brown hair and eyes, body of a Roman god, impossible to write notes for and HISTORY. Sadism never had it this good.  
  
This class is so sadistic, Laurel didn't know whether to continue to look at the teacher adorably or plan a campaign of teacher hate email. Sigh.  
  
"Let's not forget that within the stern and austere legacy of the Puritans, they also left behind an appreciation for aesthetics. It is within those peoples that the earliest account parallel to the modern supermodel is recorded within the Americas. Despite the similarities between their celebrated beauties and our Cindy Crawfords, their models were never mobbed left and right by admirers. If you still remember your Puritans, they were extremely ascetic; they would probably frown upon our outright adulation of starlets on the tube. But as you can see in this slide-"  
  
I'm so glad he paused for breath, thought Laurel, whose hand was hurting from all the notetaking. Forcing her focus from his face to the slide, she saw a very beautiful girl. Brilliant green eyes, flushed cheeks, shiny masses of silky black hair with a quiet, shy smile. Yep, that girl puts some modern models to shame. With a click came the next slide which showed another beautiful girl with an incredible shade of blond hair and light brown eyes. Both were dressed in the almost ugly, stiff and simple package of Puritan black and white, serviceable because most of their skin is covered. Which is a shame, Laurel thought, there is so much of nature peaking out of the windows in the backgrounds of those portraits. No one should sit stiffly for a painting when there is plenty of beauty outdoors.  
  
Laurel did not catch the name of the girl in the first slide, but Mr. Martlett (Jake in her daydreams) slowed down enough to catch a "-Meade."  
  
Immediately everyone's head swung over to Diana, Diana Meade, who looked embarrassed. Yep, the hair is the same, mused Laurel. With some squinting at the slide, the long dead girl seemed to share the same pale color of blond whose sheen defied a simple silver or gold description. Not the eyes though. Diana must have gotten her green eyes from another ancestor. No, those almost hazel eyes are Faye's. Well, they do share almost all their ancestors.  
  
Laurel looked around the room to check out other people's reactions. Cassie looked especially slack-jawed but most people didn't seem too surprised. Here at New Salem, Massachusetts, all the old families were descended from the Puritans. More specifically most of the "outsiders" or normal humans in the school are descendants of the servants that the original coven of witches brought with them when escaping the witch hunt of 1692 from Salem. Everyone here knows this, well that and the open secret that the Crowhaven kids are witches. Therefore no reason to be surprised. Laurel then started wondering why Cassie seemed to be in shock. Cassie should know this as well as anyone else, despite being raised in California.  
  
  
  
Part III: Half an Hour Later  
  
Mr. Martlett continued his couple of hundred words per minute pace, unaware of the large amount of interest that the slides garnered. Laurel put her pen down. She decided to give up for today and photocopy her notes from either Diana or Melanie. If Cassie can doze off in class and still get good grades (from cramming Diana's notes) then Laurel could mooch off of Melanie and Diana also.  
  
Then the most unappreciated thing happened to Laurel, Jake-um Mr. Sexy- nope, um Martlett called on her. Looking dopey in front of cute men is never appreciated, thought Laurel.  
  
"Laurel, I was asking you if you remember the name of the first colony on what later became the continental United States?"  
  
Laurel was dumbfounded. She was way too busy daydreaming about the teacher to come up with an answer.  
  
"Ummm. . ."  
  
*St. Augustine you nitwit,* mind chimed Cassie. *Daydreaming about Mr. Sexy again, are we?*  
  
Laurel just cringed and managed to choke out a ,"St. Augustine" before turning all red. She then got a smile from Mr. Sexy himself. After Laurel finished melting in her seat from happiness, she growled at Cassie. Cassie really had no right to peeping in her head.  
  
*Peeping? I had to block myself off from your disgusting mind. Laurel, you have a mind dirtier than some guys, and that is saying a whole lot.* After Cassie finished, Laurel noticed Diana and Melanie, sitting right in front of Cassie and Laurel, shaking in their seats. They better not be laughing at this, hoped Laurel.  
  
When the witch girls settled down, the class went back to its normal rhythm of his sexiness talking and the same annoying freshman raising his hand for answering questions and asking some questions of his own. That kiss-up, named Ben, always moved his arm and talked eagerly. Or perhaps desperately thought Laurel.  
  
Ben is the only freshman in their mostly senior class. The annoying part is not his obvious intelligence. It probably was the grasping manner in which he kisses ass. Then again she could be jealous. Ben got to talk to the cute teacher way more than Laurel.  
  
After that thought, fire bell rang.  
  
"Class, calm down. Pretend that this is a drill and line up accordingly. I'm pretty sure this is a drill but it can't hurt to have confirmation. I'll need a volunteer to go to the main office. Since the office is right next to the stairs, it shouldn't put anyone at risk." Laurel raised her hand but it was hard to see her hand over the spectacle Ben was making.  
  
After a deep exhale (Mr. Martlett probably realizes how much of a kiss-up Ben is, thought Laurel happily), the teacher chose Ben and he ran out the door. The class finished lining up and turned into the hallway. When the class turned the corner, they saw an ugly scene. Ben was running towards them, screaming and dripping wet. The sprinklers were on, but only the ones directly over Ben's head. No matter how fast Ben moved, he kept on getting rained on. *Just like in the cartoons*, pathed Diana.  
  
From a dark corner, Laurel saw Faye smiling. She finally got to hexing someone. *Why did you do it? I really hate the kid and I would never torture anyone like that.*  
  
Faye replied, *He's the reason everyone knows about the freshman incident. He couldn't keep his mouth shut.*  
  
Faye sashayed away; normal walking looked impossible in those heels. Laurel's last thought before stepping outdoors with the class was concerning the coven meeting tonight. There was no way this would be a boring meeting. 


	4. Cssandra

To you guys, Breathless Kisses, Becca the Crazo, Killashandra and Soraia. . .thanks for your encouragement. Everyone else, please read.  
  
Hmm. . .this chapter is more about plot development/set up (I hope) and less about characterization. I have tried to avoid using Cassie as a character because she is pretty boring now that she found true love (puking my guts:). I'm only using her here because Cassie's cross-generational flashbacks from the original L.J. series inspired my story.  
  
I promise to lay off Cassie centered chapters (only two more of these out of what seems to be like 20+ more). As a side note, I'm technically breaking copyright laws writing this piece of fan fiction, but what the hell. I also plan to cheat on my taxes. (Sort of kidding, it's tempting) Also, the bad guys: I'm getting to them, yeah, I know, mix danger and sex (well, sex without the sex because I'm trying to keep this PG-13) if you want people to enjoy it. I suppose I'll have to steal a bit of Stephen King for the danger stuff. Maybe his writing hand in a jar will do. Muh hwah hah:  
  
Thanks for reading:*). . .Emmanuelle * * *  
  
  
  
Chapter IV: CAssandra  
  
Part I: Cruising  
  
After school Adam and Cassie cruised off into the sunset. Unfortunately it was not the happily ever after of a love story, thought Cassie, quite unhappily. It's Cassie's turn to buy the supplies for a coven meeting. So she spent the last hour at the local supermarket on a Friday afternoon. Most of that time spent convincing the person at the cash register that despite personal appearance and the truth of the situation, she is really over the age of 21. Nick, Deborah, and the twins better appreciate the effort it takes to get their lousy beers.  
  
Then Cassie perked up a bit because Adam was talking. Adam's silky smooth tones wafted over towards Cassie. Barry White, eat your heart out baby.  
  
"Hi, Nick? You'll have to speak louder, I can't hear you." Oh, thought Cassie, without opening her eyes, Adam was talking to Nick on his cell phone. Adam's voice might be sexy, but she had better things to do than eavesdrop on their most likely boring conversation. She promptly zonked out.  
  
  
  
Part II: Nick on Board  
  
Burning red. A bit too warm. Cassie's eyelids felt like they were being slowly toasted by the January sun. So much for her nap. She'll just have to turn down the flippy thing, the thing that has the car mirror, whenever she opened her eyes. Still, she was too tired to bother with opening her eyes, which was probably just as well considering what would happen next.  
  
"What happened to your car?" Cassie hoped Adam wasn't talking to her, she didn't feel like telling him that she rear-ended her Volkswagen last week.  
  
"I still have no idea, all I know is that I left the Hendersons alone in my garage for ten minutes and now the car won't start. So thanks again for the ride to the meeting tonight. Everyone else's cell phones weren't picking up." Cassie almost opened her eyes then. She thought that Adam was talking to someone on the phone if not to her, also, she thought that she and Adam were the only ones in the car. So it was with a sharp jolt that she realized that Nick was actually in the car.  
  
Then there were a couple moments of silence. Cassie relaxed; they weren't going to start a fight in a moving car. Surprising, given that they seemed to be always fighting whenever they saw each other. They usually found something to fight over: territory, male leadership of the coven, and even Cassie herself. Maybe they were both growing up--  
  
"Nick, I have a question for you."  
  
"Go ahead."  
  
"Back in junior high, why didn't you ever ask Diana out?" --or maybe this was about to get really interesting, mused Cassie.  
  
"WHAT?!" At this point Cassie almost opened her eyes to look at Nick's face, but thought the better of it and kept her eyes clamped closed. She really had to hear the rest of this. She figured if they noticed that she was awake, they would stop the conversation.  
  
"Nick, not so loud, you might wake up Cassie." This was followed by another awkward silence.  
  
"Yeah, I'll keep my voice down. But what do you mean by that?"  
  
"I've been talking to Suzan recently, actually eavesdropping on Suzan and Deborah in the clubroom at lunchtime. I was doing homework so I didn't realize I was eavesdropping until Suzan started talking about you. I don't remember all the details. . .  
  
Flashback Session Earlier today: Backroom of cafeteria  
  
". . . .Okay Deborah, I'm going to lay off your male wish list for now, but just so you know, I want to see you in a real dress at the next dance. No biker chick gear, understood?"  
  
"Whatever Suzan. . ."  
  
"So, is he gay?" Suzan asked this offhandedly.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Nick."  
  
"@#$%^&^?!" Adam glanced over from his schoolwork and got to see a wad of tuna fish fly from Deborah's mouth to Doug's shocked forehead.  
  
"Well, the only female he ever showed interest in was Cassie, and she is. . .well, sort of a mix of girl-next-door and a butch-pretty tomboy," Suzan turned her head to say, "no offense Adam." Suzan moved herself again to face Deborah's frozen face.  
  
"If a guy liked her, it wouldn't have proved anything," Suzan finished. At this point Suzan had whipped out a nail polish bottle and opened it. Nail polish is probably not healthy to inhale, so it might have been a good thing that everyone else in the room (the twins and Adam) was holding their breath.  
  
Deborah looked angry and her warm brown eyes hardened to look slightly dangerous. "Look, Nick never talks to me about this stuff, but I do know that he was drooling over Diana back before high school." Deborah remained pissed for the next couple of seconds. After five seconds, she began to look shocked.  
  
Suzan smiled. "Thanks, that's all I wanted to know. Don't worry about Nick finding out." Suzan met the eyes for the boys in the room. "No one is talking to Nick about this, right?" Each guy had a good angle to see Suzan's wink, Deborah was still too dismayed to notice. All the guys could do was nod their heads.  
  
Suzan returned the nail polish to her bag and left the room without looking back. Deborah sulked in a corner. The wad of tuna fish on Doug's face slid off to the table with an audible gloppy noise.  
  
  
  
End of Flashback: Back to 'Nick on Board'  
  
  
  
". . .but somehow Suzan weaseled out of Deborah that you once had a major crush on Diana. So, why didn't you ask her out?"  
  
There was a Nick dominated silence for about a minute.  
  
"Well, we were best friends at the time and you told me about liking her first. After you told me that, how could I ask her out without losing you as a friend? Rule number one of best buds is that you don't go after the girl your friend likes. Strangely enough we stopped being friends around that time anyway." Nick said this quietly from Cassie's right so he was probably staring out into the snow-frosted trees on the side of the road.  
  
There was another long silence. Cassie was about to slip back to dreamland. It seemed like the show was finished.  
  
"So, did you fuck her?" This time Cassie was shocked enough that her eyes opened, then very quickly shut them. Hopefully no one noticed.  
  
The tires suddenly squealed and Cassie was thrown to the side door. Adam's driving suffered for a couple of seconds, but he was in charge of enough of his senses to park the car by the side of the road. Then the ignition was turned off.  
  
Nick sounded like he was smiling. "I guess that means you didn't get that far with either of them; all that puritan righteous indignation is steaming out of your ears. Very unwitchy. If you actually slept with Cassie and/or Diana, you would have kept your cool trying to figure out who I was asking about. And besides, it was you who turned this ride into sort of a truth or dare. I just couldn't stop myself from being crude. Don't worry man, Cassie is still asleep, right? Drive on. I'll leave you alone. You had your question and I had mine."  
  
Adam grunted.  
  
The trio continued driving into the sunset. Cassie should know, she had to force herself to keep her eyes closed with the sun in her face for the remainder of the car ride. But it was worth it. * * *  
  
  
  
Part III: The Dead and the Living  
  
(open)  
  
White. Winter wonderland. Snow on the trees, on the ground and the clear expanse of the gray white night sky. The coven sitting around a vivid, flickering bonfire, drinking cups of strong smelling herbals. Some state park on the mainland. Cassie vaguely remembered the Henderson twins breaking the locks on the main gate in order to get inside. At this point, Cassie's sleepiness got the better of her and Cassie closed her eyes without remembering that she had a reason for keeping them open.  
  
(close)  
  
After adjusting to the swirling red and black of her closed eyes, she saw her arm tending to the flames in the old fireplace, freshly plastered as it would have been 300 years ago in her ancient home. Her arm was clothed in warm brown wool, old puritan style. From behind, she heard a voice calling a name.  
  
"Jacinth, Jacinth. . ." Cassie's mind responded to the name as if it was Cassie's name also, so Cassie turned around. And saw the face of a girl with Diana's silver blonde hair. The girl from the slide in history class. The girl with Faye's eyes.  
  
(open)  
  
Cassie had to blink once or twice to adjust to seeing Faye in front of her.  
  
"Cassie, Cassie. . .wake up mush for brains, we have a coven meeting to run." Faye said this with a wicked grin, she loved undermining the other coven leaders.  
  
After the group chuckled, Faye continued from where she left off.  
  
"I know you guys all heard about the freshman witch, Richard, and are scared that there is someone with our powers wandering around New Salem, but if you think about it, he is only one person. We are not in any immediate danger. We should do some preliminary investigation, not try to scare him off the island. Like find out where he lives, what's his phone number--"  
  
"We all know why she wants his number," said Doug with a loud snicker, which earned him an ugly glare from Faye. Everyone else tried not to giggle again. Fortunately, the charged quiet didn't last long.  
  
"Does anyone here know any of that information, where he lives, where he is from?" Suzan asked.  
  
Cassie was in between being awake and being asleep; she heard Nick respond but she could only catch a few words. Something about paying for a college and PhD education with rent money from his parents' house. Yeah, Cassie thought, since Nick, Laurel, Adam and Melanie are single children with both parents killed by Black John, they are the heirs to their parents' properties. People who are dead due to Black John, freedom bought with their deaths. . .  
  
(close)  
  
Cassie/Jacinth was walking alone, down a clean, cobbled street. The peculiar click of wooden soles on stones punctuated a silent, clear morning. She picked up a pail, to carry the water for the morning wash. Cassie was a bit disorientated since the view of the world Jacinth was seeing is a bit higher than Cassie is used to. Jacinth must have been taller, thought Cassie.  
  
Preparing for the messy chore, she pushed up her sleeves past her forearms. Mother might not be there to yell at you, but some habits are enforced because the fear never leaves you, mused Jacinth.  
  
Before she could get off the main road, there was a deep puddle to be seen. Not water. A puddle of deep velvet red. Life blood. A sense of terror choked Cassie's/Jacinth's heart. Then everything went black.  
  
(open)  
  
"They're brothers?!" Faye is getting worked up, noted Melanie. What a world we would be living in if Faye is not only after a guy younger than her, but also if Diana gets the older brother. The goddess has a good sense of humor.  
  
Cassie knew she was out of it; it was lucky for her that Faye yelled, otherwise she might have seen more of that gruesome image. She would rather not know the intimate details of a death from 300 years ago. Engrossed in her own thoughts, the flow of conversation was beyond her. When she finally came to, the conversation was wrapping up.  
  
". . .visit them in their house then. How about this weekend, like Sunday?"  
  
"Everyone agreed?" That was Faye.  
  
*I wonder if they have hot sisters, otherwise one of us might end up with Laurel,* Chris communicated to Doug.  
  
Laurel threw her mug between them. "I heard that," warned Laurel.  
  
After a few minutes and a vote by a show of hands, it was determined that the coven would be paying a visit to the witch brother's house. Faye stepped down from the center of the circle.  
  
Diana's turn at bat. "I promised to teach you guys lessons about being a witch, and I'm sorry I forgot to do this last meeting, but I believe we were all a little preoccupied back then." After Diana received nods of agreement, she went on.  
  
"Looking through my Book of Shadows, I found an interesting section. Here, I'll pass the book around and let you guys read it."  
  
Diana handed the book for Sean. Sean stared at the book distastefully for a couple of seconds and turned pages as if trying to touch as little of the pages as possible. *He doesn't like to do work either,* commented Deborah.  
  
"Hey, this book is about soulmates. Why would I have to read this if I don't have a soulmate. . ." whined Sean.  
  
(close)  
  
Jacinth/Cassie was reading her Book of Shadows, while sitting by the warm fire. When Cassie looked up, there was Diana/Faye/Kate in a rocking chair staring at the flames. Cassie was a bit taken aback. Her friend was no longer a pretty girl, but a beautiful woman. She had voluptuous curves and a heavy belly that could not be hidden behind the strict tailoring of her dress.  
  
Jacinth/Cassie put down her book and started to talk. "Kate, I haven't seen you in two years. And now you are married and with child. I'm very happy for you but why didn't you invite me to the wedding?"  
  
"Jacinth, it happened so quickly. Please forgive me. I met my soulmate."  
  
Jacinth/Cassie couldn't say anything. Cassie's mind went into double speed. *If she had a soulmate back then, would it be the same person now?*  
  
"Who is he?" Jacinth/Cassie was all warm smiles, genuinely happy for her friend.  
  
"Nate." Cassie's mind was skimming through all that she knew of the coven's history. Who was Nate? A Henderson? When Jacinth's mind came up with a mental picture, Cassie was amazed. Nick, in breeches. How cute. Slightly anticlimactic. Are Diana and Nick soulmates? What about Faye?  
  
Cassie/Jacinth wanted to go on with the conversation, but there was a sound coming from the window. Against Cassie's will, Jacinth turned her head back and Cassie saw a flash of an angry face with black hair framed by the darkness outside. A face she saw once before. The face of the other girl in the slides from history class. Way too much of a coincidence. But before Jacinth/Cassie could think of something to do. . .  
  
(open)  
  
Adam was pinching her. "Cassie, wake UP!"  
  
"Aw-oh. Adam, that hurt."  
  
"Sorry sweetheart, but now its party time. Diana was mad at you for sleeping through her witch lesson."  
  
"Oh, how mad is she?"  
  
"Not that mad," said Adam with a smile. "She promised to come over your house and make sure you read it first hand. Then I'll come over and teach it to you, alone. I won't leave even when you get it right."  
  
While Cassie was blushing, Faye was thinking, *Yuck, and double yuck. Whatever happens, I don't ever want to fall in love.* * * *  
  
  
  
Part IV: Dancing  
  
  
  
Faye was back in the spotlight, holding a large stereo. Strange exotic tunes with a pulsing rhythm were being played. The bass was close to the primal sound of a heartbeat, thought Cassie. Everyone was looking at Faye wondering what would happen next. Freezing your ass off in a state park in the middle of winter was something everyone didn't want to do.  
  
"It's called Bhangra music. Old in India, new in London and the U.S. dance scene. I just learned the dances and I want you guys to learn too."  
  
"What's with all this learning?" whined Sean.  
  
"Shut up shorty, It'll be good for you. You might actually get a date without blackmail," replied Faye.  
  
So the circle learned the dance and was caught up in the beat. Sean danced with Laurel, Suzan and Deborah with the Hendersons. Nick approached Cassie while she was dancing with Adam.  
  
"Could I borrow her for a dance?"  
  
Adam was looked suspicious. "I hate to sound like a jealous boyfriend, but the answer is no."  
  
"Adam," interjected Cassie, "Faye is dancing by herself and she looks a bit lonely. Whirl her around once. You can trust me, right?" said Cassie teasingly.  
  
Adam nodded stiffly and walked over to Faye. After a few minutes of friendly dancing, Cassie decided to look up at Nick and break the silence. "So, why do you have to dance with me?" Cassie asked Nick.  
  
"Hmm, it looks like you have ole Adam boy on a tight leash. Well, anyway, I wanted to ask you something."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Were you awake during the car ride here?"  
  
Cassie didn't respond and a soon later the dance ended. Just before Adam reached them (looking very angry), Nick said, "So, you were awake. Don't worry, I was just trying to make sure." Nick left with a grin and Cassie couldn't help but to break her frown and smile back. Nick always did make her smile.  
  
"So, what was that about?" asked Adam.  
  
"Oh nothing, " responded Cassie, "I feel like going back to the jeep, how about you?"  
  
"Stop trying to change the subject. What did Nick--" The noise of another conversation interrupted their own.  
  
"Hey, normally I would love to dance with you, but I'm beat. Leave me alone," complained Doug.  
  
"You have to continue dancing, there is a purpose to this," replied Faye reasonably.  
  
"Well, why?"  
  
"What we started is the Sunrise Ceremony. Witches are supposed to spend one night a year dancing until sunrise without a break. It's supposed to keep the sun rising for the rest of the year."  
  
Everyone started yelling at once, but after awhile, everyone thought it would be cool to dance all night for one night. They sucked up Laurel's herbal to keep warm and danced until sunrise.  
  
When the sun finally came up, Cassie looked at the circle proudly. By then, all her strange cold visions had thawed away in the warmth of being together with her friends. The morning sun glistened on their slowly moving hair. A perfect moment frozen in time that no one could take away. * * *  
  
* *  
  
* 


End file.
